CLEVELAND – After Travis Hafner (right shoulder inflammation) took his second straight round of positive batting practice Saturday, the designated hitter deemed himself ready for activation from the disabled list.
Hafner was expected to be evaluated Saturday before a decision was made on whether he will be activated or begin a minor league rehab assignment.
“He could be activated without going on rehab,” said manager Manny Acta. “He wasn’t hurt, he was just fatigued. We’ll make a decision on him after he gets evaluated and see how he responded to (Saturday’s) workout.”
The decision is expected to come over the next two days with the Indians hitting the road Tuesday for six games in Kansas City and Detroit.
Hafner said the inflammation in his shoulder is gone and prefers not to make a rehab assignment. It is within his rights to refuse the assignment, but players rarely go against their club’s wishes in this department.
Hafner met with reporters prior to Saturday’s game, but most of the talk centered on the upcoming fantasy football season.
Hafner’s fantasy team name is “Pronk-tically Unbeatable,” but his performance on the field this year has been anything but. Bothered by shoulder issues for the third consecutive season, he is batting .267 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 82 games.
Hafner has missed 208 games over the past three seasons.
Return to relief
Aaron Laffey (left shoulder fatigue) will begin a rehab assignment at Class A Lake County on Monday. When the left-hander is ready to return, he will pitch out of the bullpen.
“We don’t feel it’s going to be productive to ramp him up and get his pitch count up,” Acta said.
Laffey (2-3, 4.62 ERA) has pitched as both a starter and reliever for the past two seasons. His status for 2011 is undecided, but Acta sounded as though he is leaning toward the bullpen.
“I haven’t seen Laffey enough as a starter, but I really like him out of the pen because he’s able to pitch multiple innings with that sinker effective against lefties and righties,” Acta said. “Obviously, his versatility is good for the organization.”
Who’s on third?
Look for the Indians to keep rotating Andy Marte, Luis Valbuena and Jayson Nix at third base until one of them proves he is worthy of consistent playing time at the position.
“The reason it’s a carousel is because no one has stepped up and said, ‘I’m that guy,’” Acta said. “I think we’re going to continue to mix and match over there and get some at-bats for just about every one of them.”
Marte, who started at third Saturday, entered the night batting .212 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 50 games, while Nix was at .256 with seven homers and 14 RBIs in 35 games for Cleveland, and Valbuena was at .167 with two homers and 17 RBIs in 58 games.
Young guns
Even if Jeanmar Gomez (3-0, 1.54 ERA) and Josh Tomlin (1-2, 2.96) continue to pitch effectively out of the rotation, the rookies will still have to earn spots at spring training next year.
“When you don’t have a track record, you don’t just show up at spring training because you have pitched well for two months and have a spot in the rotation,” Acta said.
Meeting of minds
Browns coach Eric Mangini visited Progressive Field before a game earlier in the week, with Acta meeting him personally for the first time.
Mangini, the brother-in-law of general manager Mark Shapiro, and Acta were in New York at the same time in 2006 – Mangini as head coach of the Jets, and Acta as a third base coach for the Mets.
Minor detail
Recently demoted left-hander David Huff improved to 7-0 with a 3.75 ERA for Triple-A Columbus on Friday, allowing three runs on five hits over 7 2/3 innings of a 12-4 victory over Louisville.
Roundin’ third
Shin-Soo Choo ranked fourth in the American League with a .339 home batting average through Friday. He is hitting .241 on the road.
• The Indians signed 10th-round draft pick Tyler Holt, an outfielder from Florida State University. Cleveland has yet to agree to terms with its top four selections, which includes the fifth overall pick, LHP Drew Pomeranz (University of Mississippi). The deadline to sign draft picks is midnight Monday.
• Former Indians pitching coach Carl Willis is now performing the same duties with Seattle. Willis, who began the year as Seattle’s minor league pitching coordinator, replaced a fired Rick Adair on the big league level.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
